Happy Holidays!! Holiday gift ideas for foodies

Happy Holidays everyone!!  This year I have decided to keep the concept of DIY gift ideas for holidays.  There is nothing better than giving simple personalized gifts.
Next time if you get an opportunity to give gifts try these cool and simple DIY gifts.

Mixed Vegetable Stew in Coconut & Yogurt sauce (Avial)

India is high in culture, tradition and cuisine. Every state has a unique cuisine.  Today's recipe is one of those state specific dish(Avial). A dish from kerala.

Avial is nothing but mixed vegetable stew in ground coconut and yogurt sauce. It is very rich in coconut flavor. Avial can be prepared like a thick curry or like medium gravy. I prefer gravy/sauce kind of than curry version. You can change thickness/consistency as you like.

Ingredients:

2 cups thick curd
Veggies cut into cubes. ( I used carrots, bottle gourd, drumsticks). You can add Yam, potato, french beans, okra as well. (Depending on what I have on that day in refrigerator I use those. )
pinch of turmeric
salt as per your taste

Tempering
2 tsp of oil
pinch of asafoetida
1tsp mustard seeds
1tsp cumin seeds
2 red chilies
few curry leaves


Spice Paste:

1 cup fresh coconut
5-6 black pepper corns
2 tbsp split chickpeas or rice (either one is fine. This helps to thicken the sauce)
1tsp coriander seeds
6 green chlies (adjust as per your spice level)

Soak all the ingredients of spice paste except coconut in water for 30 mts. Use a blender and make a paste of soaked ingredients along with fresh coconut.





Beat curd very well. Add turmeric, salt and spice paste to the beaten curd.
Cook all the vegetables till they are slightly crunch not too mushy. Let the cooked vegetables cool down.  Mix vegetables in yogurt sauce and cook on low flame stirring ocassionally.  (do not mix hot veggies in cold yogurt sauce to prevent curdling of yogurt)
Once the sauce comes to the desired consistency remove from heat. ( I like mine medium thick sauce not too dry nor too thin.) . Give a taste test and adjust spices if necessary
In a seperate pan add oil, once oil is hot add tempering ingredients. Once mustrads starts spalttering remove from heat garnish stew with tempering.



Delicious stew is ready to be serve.  I love to eat stew with hot rice and pickle.

Stuffed Ridge gourd with Onion masala /Beerakaya Ulli Karam

Weather in bay area changed a lot. Past few weeks it is so cold. I just don't feel like stepping out of my house. But nothing stops just because I don't want to go out right :) (I wish it was like that ). Last week was one of the hectic week at work. Glad that week is over. Another week is about to start. As usual my sunday chores started with grocery shopping ,cleaning, laundry etc. Today's visit to grocery store I got tender ridge gourd. So decided to make Stuffed Ridge gourd with onion masala for dinner.



Here is the recipe

Ingredients:

2 medium sized onion

4 medium sized or 3 large Ridge Gourd
salt as per taste
red chili powder as per your spirce level

1tbsp oil

Preparation:

Wash and peel ridge gourd and cut into medium sized cubes. Slit cubes into legnth wise. 

Finely chop onions(I used food processor to chop onions).

Mix red chili powder, salt and chopped onions.  check spice and adjust as needed.

Take a 1/2 tbsp of the filling and stuff each cubed ridge gourd

In a skillet keep all the stuffed ridge gourd and sprinkle oil and cook on medidum heat covering with a lid.  Make sure to turn ridge gourds other side once in a while to cook evenly.  Do not add water since ridge gourd has lot of water. 
It will take 10 to 15 mts to cook this curry. Serve this curry either with rice or roti.